Suni Lee and basketball? That’s a new kind of love story fans didn’t see coming. The Olympic champion, who dazzled the world in Tokyo and Paris with her gymnastics golds, has been turning heads courtside at New York Knicks games lately. And every time she shows up, something wild seems to happen, especially when OG Anunoby drops a career night right in front of her. That’s how the “Suni Effect” was born. Fans started calling her the Knicks’ lucky charm, and with that, the romance rumors weren’t far behind. But as it turns out, Suni just put all that buzz to rest…

At the 2025 ESPY Awards, Suni Lee walked the red carpet in style—but it wasn’t just her outfit that turned heads. Fans were waiting to see who she’d show up with, especially after all the Knicks-courtside buzz. That night, she posed for photos, flashed her signature smile, and made it clear she was there to celebrate sports, not stir up rumors. And then came the moment that ended the speculation: her real date for the evening stepped into the frame, effectively shutting down the talk linking her to Knicks star OG Anunoby.

“Honestly, it just started off as a joke, and I feel like social media kind of just, like, took it further than that,” the Olympic star exclusively told Mirror U.S. Sports. Well, she is not wrong. Social Media erupted when this happened. The moment the Knicks star shared a video of Lee sitting courtside on X, fans lit up the replies section with one common theme: OG Anunoby plays better when she’s in the building. “Keep attending. Had my boy OG doing s–t I’ve never seen him even attempt to do,” an X user wrote under snapshots Lee posted of herself at the game.

Knicks guard Josh Hart caught wind of the frenzy and joked on the team’s Roommates Show podcast, “We need Suni or Anne Hathaway at every playoff game.” She further told Mirrors, “But yeah, we’re just friends, and I’m really good friends with a bunch of the guys on the Knicks team, like [Karl-Anthony Towns], and then also I’m really close to [socialite and Towns’ partner Jordyn Woods] as well, so it’s cool to see them doing their thing. Honestly, I just enjoy watching basketball, which is why I went to most of the games.”

Suni Lee and Jordyn Woods were spotted together courtside at Game 1 of the Knicks vs. Pacers Eastern Conference Finals on May 21, 2025. In the OG Anunoby game, Karl-Anthony Towns scored 23 points and 15 rebounds, supported courtside by his girlfriend Jordyn Woods. Woods shared the moment on Instagram, calling Suni Lee “my cutie”. The two were also once stunned together by Minnesota’s “Generous” Welcome. But coming back to OG, she has cleared all the dating rumors for now. And with her surprising date at ESYPS, she has cleaned all the ifs and buts.

Suni Lee’s surprising date at ESPYs

At the 2025 ESPY Awards on July 16 in Los Angeles, Suni Lee was nominated for Best Comeback Athlete, recognizing her return to elite gymnastics after being diagnosed with an incurable kidney disease in 2023, and she also won that award. But the fans were buzzing more when she was on the red carpet. The Olympic gold medalist sparkling Oscar de la Renta gown, crafted with gold sequins and featuring a high side slit and a short train. But this is still not what caught the fans’ attention. It was her date.

Joining her on the red carpet was the doctor who has been treating her incurable kidney condition. “I’m so excited,” she told ESPN’s Kevin Negandhi and Elle Duncan ahead of Wednesday’s ceremony. “It’s her first time on a red carpet. So it’s really fun for the both of us. But she was the one person who actually believed in me whenever I was going through everything.”

The kidney disease had a lot of impact on Lee. To start with, forced to end her college gymnastics career at Auburn University. But then she would go on to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics and add three more medals to her name despite the diagnosis. Currently, there are rumors that she might not return to gymnastics. Nothing is confirmed as of right now. What are your thoughts?